1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for transporting bicycles and more specifically to automobile mountable bicycle carriers adapted to be secured to the rear or trunk portion of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bicycling has become a popular sport in recent years and the number of cyclists engaged in casual, sports, and extreme bicycling have increased dramatically. Many popular bicycling activities, such as mountain biking for example, are generally enjoyed at remote locations distant from a cyclist""s home. As a result, there arose a need with the increasing popularity of bicycling for convenient and reliable methods of transporting bicycles to and from bicycling locations. To fill this need, a variety of automotive bicycle carriers have been developed. Some of these carriers, referred to as roof-mount carriers, are mounted to the roof of an automobile for securing one or more bicycles to the roof for transport. Others, known as trunk-mount carriers, are designed to be mounted to the rear end or trunk portion of an automobile for carrying one or more bicycles immediately behind the automobile. In general, trunk-mount carriers include tubular frames that are strapped to the rear end portion of an automobile and include a pair of rearwardly projecting arms upon which one or more bicycles are suspended and secured for transport.
Rear-mount bicycle carriers are available in a number of configurations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,700, for example, discloses an automobile mountable bicycle carrier that is mounted to the trunk portion of an automobile. The carrier has a central hub from which a U-shaped trunk engaging bar and a U-shaped bumper engaging bar extend at an angle relative to each other. The carrier is mounted to an automobile by lashing it with straps to the rear end portion with the trunk engaging bar resting on the trunk and the bumper engaging bar resting on top of the rear bumper. A U-shaped support member defining a pair of spaced support arms extends rearwardly (with respect to the automobile)from the central hub and is pivotally adjustable at the hub to extend substantially horizontally. A pair of mounting brackets or blocks are attached to each of the spaced support arms for receiving bicycle frames to suspend the frames from the support arms for transport.
Another common trunk-mount bicycle carrier is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,767 of Chimenti et al. This carrier is similar to that of Blackburn et al. in that it includes a pair of hubs from which U-shaped trunk engaging and bumper engaging bars extend. A rearwardly projecting support bar extends from each of the hubs and each support bar is provided with one or more rubberized mounting blocks or cradles for receiving and securing the top post of a bicycle frame. Thus, one or more bicycles may be suspended from the support bars for transport. In the Chimenti et al. carrier, the bumper engaging bar and the rearwardly projecting support bars are permanently fixed to the central hub at predetermined angles relative to each other. The trunk-engaging bar, however, is pivotally mounted to the hub and may be rotated about the hub and locked in a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the bumper engaging bar. In use, the bumper engaging bar is rested upon the rear bumper and the carrier moved up or down until the support bars extend substantially horizontally. The trunk engaging bar is then pivoted downwardly until it engages the trunk, where it is locked into position. The carrier is then lashed to the trunk with straps, which have hooks that fasten onto the edges of the trunk lid, to secure the carrier in place for transporting bicycles.
A variety of other trunk-mount bicycle carrier designs are also disclosed in the art, including carriers illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,863,080; 4, 875,608; 4,332,337; 4,428,516; and others. These and similar trunk-mount bicycle carriers, such as those discussed above, while generally reliable for transporting bicycles, nevertheless exhibit certain problems and shortcomings inherent is their various designs. For example, many prior art carriers are formed from several bent metal rods that form the various members of the carrier and that are tied together at their ends at spaced apart hub assemblies. In many cases, the member or members that serve as the horizontally extending support bars are pivotable about the hub and mechanisms are provided for locking these members is a variety of positions or attitudes relative to horizontal. This feature is required because automotive trunk configurations differ and it is necessary to adjust the support bars until they are substantially horizontal or angled slightly upwardly to support bicycles for a wide variety of automobile types. One problem, however, is that the hub assemblies generally include relatively complex mechanical pivot and locking systems that are prone to wear and tear over time and that require regular maintenance to prevent lubricant drying and the accumulation of mud and dirt that can hamper operation of the assembly. Furthermore, in these types of carriers, the weight of bicycles suspended from the support bars is carried by the pivot and locking mechanisms of the hubs. Over time, the weight of the bicycles and the constant motion during transport can fatigue these mechanisms, even to the point of failure in some cases. Finally, it is not always easy to gauge when the support bars are oriented at the optimum attitude for receiving and supporting bicycles.
Other types of bicycle racks, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,332,337 of Kosecoff and 4,863,080 of Grager, do not have hubs or pivotally adjustable support bars. While these carriers are simpler, they nevertheless are not fully adaptable to a variety of automotive trunk configurations and in many cases, the support bars do not extend at the appropriate optimal attitude as is preferred when the carrier is mounted to an automobile.
Thus, a need exists for a trunk-mount bicycle carrier that is simple and sturdy in construction, that does not include complex, maintenance intensive, and failure prone mechanical pivot mechanisms for adjusting the orientation of the support bars, but that nevertheless provides for simple and accurate adjustment of the support bar orientation to an optimum attitude for carrying bicycles. The weight of carried bicycles should not be born by hub assemblies or other mechanical components as in the prior art, but should be transferred directly to the automobile to eliminate stress related fatigue found in many prior art carriers. Finally, the carrier should be economical to produce and easily stowed and deployed by a user. It is to the provision of such a bicycle carrier that the present invention is primarily directed.
Briefly described, the present invention, in one preferred embodiment thereof, comprises an improved bicycle carrier for mounting to the rear end portion of an automobile to support one or more bicycles for transport. The bicycle carrier is characterized by a unitary or single piece convolutely-shaped frame preferably formed of sturdy tubular steel, aluminum, or other appropriate metal. The unitary frame is shaped to define a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel support bars at one end for supporting one or more bicycles. The other end of the frame is generally U-shaped and defines a vehicle engaging member for engaging and resting against the rear end portion of an automobile, preferably atop the bumper in the preferred embodiment. A first hub-shaped bracket is mounted to the frame intermediate one of the support bars and the vehicle engaging member. Preferably, the bracket is mounted at the forward end of the support bar where the frame bends downwardly to begin to form the vehicle engaging member. A second similarly shaped bracket is mounted to the frame intermediate the other one of the support bars and the vehicle engaging member, preferably at the same location. Thus, the first and second brackets are spaced apart and aligned with each other.
A cross member is mounted to and extends between the first and second brackets to tie the two sides of the frame together. A stabilizer in the form of a generally J-shaped arm is mounted to the cross member and extends therefrom in a direction generally away from the support bars to a free end. The free end of the stabilizer is configured to engage and rest against the trunk lid of the automobile for stabilizing the carrier. The stabilizer preferably is pivotally secured to the cross member and can be locked in a selected pivotal orientation. In this way, the carrier can be placed against the rear end of an automobile with its vehicle engaging member and stabilizer resting against the car, whereupon the stabilizer can be pivotally adjusted until the support arms are oriented at an optimum attitude for receiving and supporting one or more bicycles. The stabilizer can then be locked in place to fix the support arms in the desired attitude. Means for lashing the carrier securely to the automobile includes a set of straps that extend preferably from the cross member to hooks or clips, which clip onto selected edges of the trunk lid or rear bumper in the traditional manner. The straps are then tightened to secure the carrier to the automobile.
At least one leveling indicator is provided on the frame for indicating to a user during adjustment of the carrier when the support arms are oriented at the proper attitude for carrying bicycles. The optimum attitude may be substantially horizontal or may be at a slight upward angle. In any event, when the support arms are in the optimum or desired attitude, the leveling indicator so indicates and the stabilizer can be locked and the carrier lashed to the automobile. In the preferred embodiment, the leveling indicator is built into at least one of the hub-shaped brackets of the carrier and includes a small ball that rolls within an arcuate track within the bracket. A cap covers the ball and track and is formed with an opening, preferably in the form of a curved slot, through which the ball may be viewed. An index mark is provided on the cap to indicate the position of the ball that corresponds to a proper attitude of the support bars. When adjusting the carrier, the frame is simply moved up and down until the ball aligns with the index mark, whereupon the stabilizer is locked and the carrier lashed securely in place with its straps.
It will be seen that a trunk-mount bicycle carrier is now provided that addresses successfully the problems and shortcomings of prior art carriers. Specifically, the complex mechanical hubs of the prior art are eliminated and replaced by a strong, single piece, convulutely-shaped tubular frame that defines both the support members and one of the vehicle engaging members. Thus, the problems with such hubs is eliminated. Further, the weight of bicycles suspended from the support bars is transferred through the unitary frame directly to the automobile, eliminating stress fatigue in interconnecting hubs and their locking mechanisms. Simple one-step adjustment of the carrier to fit virtually any automobile configuration is provided by the single piece stabilizer, which is simply pivoted and locked to adjust the attitude of the support members. Finally, a reliable and convenient leveling indicator assures that the carrier is properly adjusted every time for correct placement and orientation of the support bars. When not in use, the stabilizer may simply be pivoted downwardly to form a compact storage configuration of the carrier.
These and other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon review of the detailed description of the preferred embodiments set forth below, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.